Blog

Why I Stopped Giving It All Away -- The Best Things In Life Aren’t Free


I tried giving away my courses for free. Here's what happened...

Years ago, I championed the idea that all knowledge should be freely available online, aiming to accelerate humanity's progress. When I actually tried it, I learned two valuable lessons -- (1) free courses resulted in lower engagement and commitment from participants, and (2) my motivation waned without the reciprocal energy of paid exchanges. This experience, coupled with the disappointing experiment in using Patreon, gradu…

Click to continue reading...

How I Invest My Money

I’ve been investing actively for more than 10 years… and studying about it along the way.

I’m not a financial advisor — simply a passionate amateur — so please do much other research and get certain about your strategy before you invest.

Over time, I’ve really settled into the “Boglehead” way, which is:

(1) As soon as possible (do not delay even one year) — invest your money into a tax-advantaged retirement account (such as an IRA) at least yearly…

(2) …choosing low-cost broad-based index fu…

Click to continue reading...

Should You “Charge What You’re Worth”?


Should you “Charge what you’re worth”?

Have you heard that you should “charge what you’re worth?” ...that in your fees you should “stand up for your value”? Let's reflect on this and various other ideas related to pricing...

Posted by George Kao, Authentic Business Coach on Friday, August 11, 2023

 

Have you heard that in your pricing, you should “stand up for your value” ?

Let’s reflect on this:

How much is your value?

How much are you worth?

$25/hour? $250/hour? $500/hour? $10,…

Click to continue reading...

3 Principles of Authentic Moneymaking


“Is it possible to make lots of money... authentically?”

“Is it possible to make lots of money... authentically?” … a client asked. My short answer is: Yes, if we pay attention, along the way, to our motivations...

Posted by George Kao, Authentic Business Coach on Friday, June 2, 2023


“Is it possible to make lots of money… authentically?” –a client asked.

My short answer is: Yes, if we pay attention, along the way, to our motivations.

First, the numbers can be simple: Create a wel…

Click to continue reading...

Be aware of the values you’re being influenced into…


Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation for Business

Observe the business experts you follow: notice the core message of their emails, social media, and websites… Are they trying to tempt you with big incomes and large followings? "Make 7 figures!” "Get one hundred thousand followers!” By selling wealth and fame, they are leading some people towards anxiety and depression. A business built on extrinsic (or external) motivations will eventually foster unhappiness. On the other hand, an authenti…

Click to continue reading...